Big BEAUTIFUL Sky

Breathtaking scenery. Bent-grass fairways so immaculate that you almost feel guilty about taking a divot. And 18 holes that will challenge every part of your game.

Big Sky, which sits in the shadow of magnificent Mount Currie in the Pemberton Valley, has it all.

So it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s been named as the best public/resort course in the province by the Vancouver Sun’s Best of B.C. golf panel.

What better way to tee off the golf season than with a survey that figures to fuel chatter at 19th holes across the province.

Our Best of B.C. golf panel, 12 individuals intimately familiar with this province’s rich golf landscape, was formed with the hope of doing just that. We wanted to have some fun and gather opinions on the best B.C. has to offer in terms of golf. And as anyone who has spent some time on the links here knows, there is plenty to offer.

In what was a two-way race, Big Sky edged Predator Ridge in Vernon for top honours among our panelists.

Big Sky received more first-place votes (three) than any other course and was the second choice of two other panelists.

“On a sunny day, with Mount Currie in the background, the river beside it and spectacular scenery all around, Big Sky is hard to beat,” said panelist James Cronk, who selected Big Sky as his top B.C. course. “It’s a fantastic shot-maker’s golf course that is usually in great shape.”

Big Sky opened in 1994 and was designed by Americans Bob Cupp and John Fought.

General manager Chris Wallace has been there since the very beginning. He was part of the construction crew that began work on the course back in 1991 and subsequently became course superintendent.

It was Wallace and his crew that set the standard for making Big Sky what many consider to be the best-conditioned course in the province.

“That is something we have prided ourselves on and that sets us apart,” Wallace says. “I do really think it’s the best-conditioned course in Western Canada. There are other courses that will ramp up and be good for the summer season, good for July, good for August. We try to be perfect from the day we open the doors to the day we close. That has really helped us over the years.”

But Big Sky has more going for it than its near-perfect conditioning. It’s one of those rare courses that can challenge the very best players and yet also be accommodating to high-handicappers.

“I think the playability of our course is one its real strengths,” Wallace says. “It truly is a good course for any handicap player. And I think that is something you don’t find in many golf courses nowadays.

“A lot of courses built in the last five years are starting to be monster courses; they are focusing on lots of yardage and want a reputation for toughness. I think that’s all right for your first year of opening. You may get a bit of a name, but after that I think you kind of get lost.”

It is Big Sky’s atmosphere that went a long way to convincing panelist Phyllis Laschuk to select Big Sky as her No. 1 choice.

“This peaceful, immaculately-maintained golf course is a diamond surrounded by the in-your-face Mount Currie and the organic acreages of sheep and horse farms,” Laschuk says.

Second-place finisher Predator Ridge received more votes (eight) than any other course in our survey.

Mike Carroll, the Vancouver lawyer who was one of the main organizers of the Air Canada Championship, selected Predator as his top choice.

“There really isn’t a weak hole in the entire 27-hole layout,” Carroll says. “The views are wonderful and the practice facility is first-class.”

“Storey Creek has it all: trees, park-like setting, a walk with nature, rolling terrain, water,” says B.C. and Canadian Senior Women’s champion Jackie Little. “It tests everything about your game. One important aspect for me when it comes to picking courses is the ability to walk. I really don’t like to ride and feel that riding should only be an option if you want, not forced upon you because of the design of the course.”

“I like Storey Creek because of its reasonable cost, welcoming atmosphere and the fact that each hole is quite separate from the others,” adds panelist Alison Murdoch, the former Canadian, British and Irish Senior women’s champion.

Like most surveys, this one is not perfect. The panelists have obviously not played every course in the province. The East Kootenays is a long way from the Lower Mainland and panelist Doug Roxburgh noted that he has yet to play many of the courses in the area, including Greywolf.

The Doug Carrick mountainside layout at the Panorama Resort near Invermere was the top pick of B.C. Golf Association executive director Kris Jonasson.

“Greywolf in my opinion is the greatest mountain course in North America,” Jonasson says. “It has challenging memorable holes, fits the topography perfectly and will challenge all players regardless of the tee chosen.”

Tobiano, the new Kamloops-area course designed by Thomas McBroom, also figures to move up in the the rankings in subsequent years as more players become familiar with it.

It was ranked No. 1 by Roxburgh, the 13-time B.C. Amateur champion who said simply: “Every hole is a signature hole. Great views and shot values.”

The large number of courses that received votes from our panelists is testament to the great variety of layouts in B.C. No fewer than 59 courses were included in our panelists’ top 10 lists.

Big BEAUTIFUL Sky

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